When In Doubt, Help Out

Lately I’ve heard people saying, “Wait, when did summer get here?”

A lot of us have felt a sort of odd time compression that often accompanies a dramatic shift in routine. With the shelter-in-place order came the feeling that the days were speeding past or not moving at all.

This odd, unsettling period of time may finally be drawing to a close.

From where I’m sitting, the country is starting to poke its head up from the seeming hibernation it’s been in. Some states are reopening restaurants and barbershops. Others are still hunkering down to see what happens.

Don’t get me wrong – we still have a long way to go, but we’re collectively taking steps to reach our “new normal.”

What will that look like? We don’t know. The safety precautions many repair shops and other businesses put into place will likely continue in some capacity for the foreseeable future. But as a people, we’re learning how to operate within these new parameters. We’ll try new things and refine them. We’ll keep what works and discard what doesn’t.

Here at Fullbay, we knew we had to do our part. We were fortunate enough to find several partners who felt the same, and were eager to contribute in a variety of ways to our cause. I’d like to talk a little bit about Fullbay Cares, what it’s done so far, and what we hope to do.

FULLBAY CARES

We put together Fullbay Cares because we found ourselves in a position where we could give back. We knew we had to do something; the question was what.

We kicked around a lot of ideas. Some we kept, some we didn’t; we even created a coloring book to help our customers’ children pass the time. But we wanted to do more than that.

There’s no question that COVID-19 is having a negative impact on the economy. Many, many people who were used to providing for their families were suddenly going without. But everyone needs to put food on the table; we decided to make a donation to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada for every US/Canadian-based subscription we received.

We were willing to do this alone, but as we soon found out, we didn’t need to.

OUR PARTNERS

We were fortunate to find partners who felt the same way we did. I want to take a moment to thank them for teaming up with us during this uneasy time:

• Interstate Billing Service
• Find A Wrench
• Worldpay
• American Diesel Training Centers

These companies aren’t insulated from what’s going on in the world. They face the same issues as everyone else. It would have been easy to sit back and wait to see what happens before making a move – but instead they chose to step up and help others.

I’m incredibly grateful for their support, and it’s an honor to let you know that together we raised over $10,000 for these charities through the month of May.

SUMMING UP

I think we all know that we aren’t going to overcome the problems caused by COVID-19 overnight. Much as we all want to put this behind us, we’re likely facing permanent changes to how we live and do business.

You know what? That’s OK.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” He’s right – he’s still right – because by working together, and not giving up, we will get ahead of this thing and come out stronger than we were before.

Hang in there, everyone. We’ve got this.